An inspector has said he was barred from meeting seafarers on two supply vessels in Aberdeen as he tried to investigate allegations of underpayment.
Liam Wilson of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) said he initially spoke to workers on GulfMark’s North Promise vessel last Wednesday after the issue was flagged up.
But Mr Wilson said that when he returned to North Promise to inform the company that a formal complaint would be lodged, he was denied entry to the ship, which has been chartered by Shell.
The inspector also tried to board GulfMark’s Highland Chieftain ship on Monday, but was blocked again.
Mr Wilson said it was “unheard of” for an inspector to be refused access and that GulfMark’s alleged actions were a breach of the crew’s rights.
He also said underpayment of seafarers was rife in the UK and that the whole offshore sector was “a disgrace”.
The Press & Journal’s sister website Energy Voice has asked GulfMark whether it blocked Mr Wilson’s access to the two ships, but the firm has yet to reply.
Trade unions said last week that they had submitted complaints against GulfMark to various UK government agencies after learning that Filipino crew on the North Promise were earning as little as £2.60 per hour.
GulfMark, whose corporate office is in Houston, strenuously denied the claim and said it complied with the maritime labour convention (MLC).
GulfMark also accused unions of “aggressively targeting” of the firm.
But yesterday, RMT national secretary Steve Todd said he was sticking by the allegation and challenged GulfMark to prove him wrong.
Mr Todd did say GulfMark was “normally a high quality and safe operator” but that the company was in the wrong on this occasion.
He said: I’m happy to sit down with them and sort it out. I’m quite happy to be proven wrong.”
On the subject of crew payments, a GulfMark spokesman said yesterday morning that the firm refuted the “unsubstantiated allegation”.
The spokesman said GulfMark was in full compliance with the MLC and other relevant legislation and that North Promise had passed an audit by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
He said: “It is disappointing that the RMT are aggressively targeting a compliant UK owner whilst the offshore sector is dominated by vessels registered on international registries.
“We would have welcomed sitting down with the RMT, as we have always done in the past, and working through any issues or concerns they might have.
“On this particular issue we are currently awaiting their response to a request we have made of them for further information and clarification.”
A spokeswoman for Shell said: “We work with all suppliers to ensure they meet Shell health and safety standards which includes welfare of staff.”
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